{"podcast":{"title":"Conversations","slug":"conversations-320217","podcast_index_feed_id":320217,"rss_url":"https://www.abc.net.au/feeds/7711104/podcast.xml","website_url":"https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/conversations/","image_url":"https://live-production.wcms.abc-cdn.net.au/9419a7d446ad3f4620983df5d8d048f1.jpg?src","author":"ABC Australia","episode_count":2000,"summary":"Conversations draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may have heard about, but never met. Journey into their world, joining them on epic adventures to unfamiliar places, back in time to wild moments of history, and into their deepest memories, to be moved by personal stories of resilience and redemption. Hosted by Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski, Conversations is the ABC's most popular long-form interview program. Every day we explore the vast tapestry of human experience, weaving together narratives from history, science, art, and personal storytelling. Conversations Live is coming to the stage! Join Sarah Kanowski and Richard Fidler for an unmissable night of unforgettable stories, behind-the-scenes secrets, and surprise guests. Australia’s most-loved podcast — live, up close, and in the moment. Find out more at the Conversations website.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-16T12:19:56.982931+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/conversations-320217"},"episode":{"title":"Encore: The misfit mammal that defies biological conventions","slug":"encore-the-misfit-mammal-that-defies-biological-conventions","published_at":"2026-05-07T01:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/conversations-320217/encore-the-misfit-mammal-that-defies-biological-conventions","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/conversations-320217","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/conversations/jack-ashby-is-an-expert-on-platypus/106636826","audio_url":"https://mediacore-live-production.akamaized.net/audio/02/k9/Z/p7.mp3","summary":"It was love at first sight, when Jack Ashby first set eyes upon a platypus specimen as a young university student. The introduction set him on a lifelong mission to meet these quintessentially Australian creatures in the wild, and redefine their reputation as \"weird\" or \"primitive\". He's met many other animals along the way, coming face to face with an elusive snow leopard family in the Himalayas, with wombats and echidnas, and seeing only the eyes of a sloth bear, reflecting his torchlight in a pitch black forest. Further information Platypus Matters is published by Harper Collins This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2022, the producer was Meggie Morris and the Executive Producer was Carmel Rooney. It explores platypus, mammals, zoology, echidnas, Australian animals, Winston Churchill, animal behaviour, Indigenous Australians, baby platypus, the biology and anatomy of platypus, weird animal facts. To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.","meta_description":"It was love at first sight, when Jack Ashby first set eyes upon a platypus specimen as a young university student. The introduction set him on a lifelong…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3060,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/conversations-320217/episodes/encore-the-misfit-mammal-that-defies-biological-conventions/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/conversations-320217/encore-the-misfit-mammal-that-defies-biological-conventions.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}